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Around the Green Parenting Web: Boycott Nestle to BPA Exposure

There are so many wonderful eco-friendly family websites, many of which are in our blogroll. I’d like to start a new series in which I highlight what my peers are writing across the web. Obviously, I don’t have time to write about every issue and topic on green parenting, and I want to share with our readers the amazing content these moms and dads are writing. Here are five great excerpts of posts I’ve encountered this week, including action items. Just click the titles to come to the original full posts on their home websites.

Nestlé is the target of a boycott over its aggressive marketing of baby milks around the world. International Nestlé-Free Week (25 – 31 October 2010) is a time for those who support the boycott to do more to promote it and for those who don’t boycott to give it a go, at least for a week, by avoiding Nescafé, the principal target of the boycott, and other Nestlé products. Nestlé is one of the four most boycotted companies on the planet,according to GMI, and the boycott has forced important changes. During International Nestlé-Free Week 2010, Baby Milk Action is calling on the public to email Nestlé over its latest global baby milk marketing strategy. Nestlé is targeting mothers and health workers with the claim its formula ‘protects’ babies even though babies fed on formula are more likely to become sick than breastfed babies and, in conditions of poverty, more likely to die. Nestlé is accused of undermining the ‘breast is best’ message by claiming its formula is ‘The new “Gold Standard” in infant nutrition’ (image below). Nestlé is also accused of refusing to provide important information to parents and carers who use formula. Nestlé has already received thousands of emails, but is so far refusing to drop this marketing campaign…

And I hate it. Don’t get me wrong – I am all for raising money and bringing more awareness and education to breast cancer issues.

But I detest pinkwashing. And October just brings a ton of companies promoting products that contain ingredients that are linked to breast cancer or are hormone disruptors. Companies like Avon, Aveda and Estee Lauder who claim they are pink but there products are loaded with the very chemicals that may contribute to breast cancer…

Oakland, CA-The Center for Environmental Health has found high levels of lead, in violation of federal standards, in five children’s products from WalMart and Target. The California Attorney General has notified the companies, and in response, Target is stopping all sales of the products. But according to the Attorney General’s office, WalMart is pulling some products only from its California stores.

“We cannot understand how WalMart can continue to sell these lead-tainted products to children in any state, or any country,” said Caroline Cox, Research Director at CEH. “It’s been more than two years since federal law established strict limits to protect children from these kinds of lead threats. Clearly WalMart needs to do better for our families.”

4. Inhabitots: New Study: Baby Poop May Hold Clues to Allergies and Asthma

While you want to get rid of Baby’s poo as quickly as possible, researchers in Canada see dirty diapers as valuable clues for determining risk factors of allergies and asthma. In a new $12 million country-wide study, researchers from five universities will take a close look at the dirty diapers of 5,000 babies. That’s a lot of baby poop! They’ll map the DNA of the bacteria in the babies stool in hopes of determining if environmental factors, C-sections or antibiotic use increase a child’s risk of allergies or asthma.

A 2007 study found that children who went on antibiotics four or more times before their first birthday have a 30 percent higher risk of developing asthma. This new study, the largest of its kind, will look at the association between antibiotics and good stomach bacteria to see if antibiotics may negatively affect immune systems, leading to allergies or asthma. Previous research has also shown an association between a higher risk of asthma and C-section births.

Pregnant women who eat canned vegetables daily have elevated levels of bisphenol A, an estrogenic chemical found in food containers and other consumer products, according to new research published today. More than 90 percent of pregnant women had detectable levels of BPA, and a variety of sources of the chemical were identified in the study. Pregnant women who were exposed to tobacco smoke or worked as cashiers also had above-average concentrations…

“This really highlights that there are a lot of sources of BPA exposure during pregnancy,” said Joe Braun, a research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health and lead author of the study conducted by scientists from seven institutions. “This identifies some sources that are modifiable, meaning that women can actually lower their exposures to them.”

[…] many products, it is hard for consumers to truly avoid it. The most recent discovery was BPA in cash register receipts, and I am pleased to see our local organic food co-op has switched to BPA-free receipts (although […]

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About Eco Child’s Play

Our ethos is to provide news, information, and opinions on natural, green parenting to help your family live a greener, healthier life! Additionally, we offer personal consulting services to help you achieve your green living goals.

Jennifer is a vegetarian, yoga teacher, gardener, hiker, teacher, and mother that has been living off-the-grid for over 20 years.